‘We were being prepared for war,’ Ukrainian teenager taken to Russian military camp says
ABC News
(LONDON) — Ukrainian teenager Katya says she was living with her foster parents in the Russian-occupied region of Kherson in 2023 when Russian authorities approached her family and told them they would take her to a summer camp. But, in reality, she says she was being trained for military service.
“The school told us we are going for a vacation to the sea,” she tells ABC News in Kyiv, Ukraine. “Then we traveled for three days by bus, on the third day we were put on a train. And we were sent to a military camp.”
“Katya,” who has asked to remain anonymous to protect her identity, was 16-years-old at the time but now, at 18, she tells ABC News that she used to get up “at seven in the morning, had breakfast by nine, did exercises, then we went to the orientation. During orientation, we were forced to learn the Russian anthem and the anthem of this platoon.”
There were both Russian and Ukrainian teenagers in the military camp, which was inside Russian territory, Katya said. But Ukrainians were forbidden from speaking Ukrainian or expressing their identity, and told they were being trained to fight for the Russian army.
They would be forced into punishment exercises if they did not comply, she said. Katya can be seen doing squats and push ups in a video taken inside the camp shared with ABC News.
“As our instructors told us, we were being prepared for war,” she said. “They told us that as soon as we turned 18 [we would go to fight.]”
Katya was just one of thousands of Ukrainian children estimated to have been taken into Russia since the invasion of Feb. 24, 2022, with Ukraine saying that more than 19,500 children have been abducted or forcibly displaced into Russia since then.
Just over 1,500 children have been rescued from Russia, with almost half of those facilitated by Save Ukraine, a charity dedicated to the return of Russian children who helped Katya get back to Ukrainian territory after her weekslong ordeal in the military camp.
“Her story is really common, because now what we see from children who were rescued recently, we see that all of them were engaged in some military activities,” Natalia Savchenko, the head of communications at Save Ukraine, told ABC News. “It’s a policy and we see that the policy of Russia now is to take Ukrainian children, erase their identity, and force them to take part in military activities and, after that, make them Russian soldiers.”
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, the Russian commissioner for children’s rights in 2023. The ICC said they were allegedly “responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”
Russia, however, denies kidnapping the children and claims it evacuated them for humanitarian reasons.
The prospect of an elusive ceasefire dominated the agenda at the Alaska Summit last month when President Trump hosted Vladimir Putin and hand-delivered a letter written by first lady Melania Trump, calling for the protection of children. The letter did not specifically mention Ukrainian children taken into Russia.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also raised the subject of Ukrainian children who have been taken into Russia when European leaders met with the U.S. President last month as well.
“This issue lies at the heart of the war’s humanitarian tragedy — our children, broken families, the pain of separation,” Zelenskyy said.
“It is a subject at the top of all lists and the world will work together to solve it, hopefully bringing them home to their families,” President Trump said.
Savchenko told ABC News that she hoped the diplomatic efforts would help “change the future of these children.”
“But at the same time, we continue to do our work, we are continuing to rescue them, to rehabilitate and to reintegrate, because these are Ukrainian children, and we cannot surrender. And let them be in the hands of war criminals,” she continued. “In our mind discussion about Ukrainian children should be done before the discussion about lands, because children, they are our future. It’s not the question of politics. It’s a question of humanity.”
(LONDON) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for “new offensive operations” despite Friday’s looming peace summit in Alaska.
Fierce frontline combat and long-range drone and missile strikes are ongoing as the U.S. and Russia prepare for Friday’s meeting. Ukrainian representatives are not expected to attend, though a source in Zelenskyy’s office told ABC News on Monday that “everything is very fluid.”
Zelenskyy and his officials have gone on a diplomatic offensive ahead of the meeting, seeking to shore up foreign support behind Ukraine’s key demands in any peace deal.
On Monday, Zelenskyy suggested that Putin is not ready to end the fighting, despite Friday’s meeting in Alaska.
Citing a report from his intelligence and military commands, Zelenskyy said in a statement that Putin “is definitely not preparing for a ceasefire or an end to the war. Putin is determined only to present a meeting with America as his personal victory and then continue acting exactly as before, applying the same pressure on Ukraine as before.”
“So far, there is no indication whatsoever that the Russians have received signals to prepare for a post-war situation,” he added. “On the contrary, they are redeploying their troops and forces in ways that suggest preparations for new offensive operations.”
“If someone is preparing for peace, this is not what he does,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy has said Kyiv will not cede any territory to Russia, will not abandon its NATO ambitions and will not allow any limitations on its armed forces.
Among Moscow’s demands are that Ukraine cede several regions — not all of which are controlled by Russian troops — in the south and east of the country, accept curbs on the size and sophistication of its military and be permanently excluded from NATO. Putin also wants all international sanctions on Russia to be lifted in the event of a peace deal.
Russia’s demands, Zelenskyy has said, constitute an attempt to “partition Ukraine.”
President Donald Trump on Monday described the coming summit as a “feel out meeting,” telling reporters, “I’m going in to speak to Vladimir, and I’m going to be telling him, ‘You got to end this war. You got to end it’.”
“And at the end of that meeting, probably in the first two minutes, I’ll know exactly whether or not a deal can be made,” Trump said.
When asked how he would know if a deal is possible, the president replied, “Because that’s what I do. I make deals.”
World War II, after the explosion of the atom bomb in August 1945, Hiroshima, Japan. Photo by: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
(TOKYO) — The atomic bombings of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and Nagasaki three days later brought a scale of destruction the world had never seen. Many who survived the blasts died in the weeks, months and years that followed. Japan surrendered six days after the Nagasaki bombing, bringing an end to World War II.
Today, the only nation to have suffered atomic bombings is protected by the U.S. nuclear umbrella. More than 50,000 U.S. military personnel are stationed in Japan. The country has fired almost no shots in anger in eight decades.
But that postwar identity is shifting.
The Japanese constitution, drafted during the U.S. occupation, renounces war as a means of settling disputes. Japan hasn’t revised that pacifist charter. But the space around it has changed. Many here now perceive real and growing threats. Topics that were politically untouchable a decade ago are now freely debated.
Conflicts no longer seem regional but interconnected. North Korea, now a front-line participant in the war in Ukraine, continues to launch missiles in defiance of sanctions. China tests boundaries and dares others to push back.
In recent years, Japan has asserted itself more openly, sending a warship through the Taiwan Strait in 2024 and dispatching a prime minister to Ukraine for face-to-face talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2023 — the first time a Japanese prime minister has visited an active combat zone since World War II.
Leading up to this year’s anniversary, the tone has shifted from remembrance to readiness. “Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow,” said former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during that 2023 visit.
Earlier this year, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth visited Tokyo, where, according to Reuters, the two sides agreed to accelerate co-production of missile systems. Japan also pledged to expand joint operations and upgrade its Self-Defense Forces’ command structure to better align with U.S. forces.
Current Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba affirmed the shared U.S.-Japan vision for a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific.”
Japan now participates in multinational drills near flashpoints. It provides naval support to the Philippines. It seeks better ties with South Korea.
But rearmament takes money, and public support for a bigger military budget remains uncertain.
One group has stayed firmly opposed to nuclear weapons, Nihon Hidankyo, formed in 1956 representing survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In 2024, it received the Nobel Peace Prize for decades of testimony and efforts to persuade governments to disarm.
“We atomic bomb survivors call on all countries to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons for peace,” reads a flyer distributed by the group.
In Japan, survivors are known as hibakusha. They became symbols of peace, a living reminder of what must never happen again. Now, there are fewer of them, but they are still speaking out.
Tomoko Matsuo was 12 years old when the bomb fell on Nagasaki. She was at home on summer break, less than 2 miles from the hypocenter, the area directly underneath where the bomb exploded. A hill, she says, may have blocked the worst of the blast and saved her life.
“I was working on the sewing machine when I heard a huge sound,” she told ABC News in Nagasaki on June 27. “It was enormous and unforgettable.” She ran to a nearby bomb shelter. When she emerged, her house was still standing. Nagasaki was ablaze.
They searched for her older sister Eiko, who was 16. “It was a sea of flames. We gave up the search.” Two days after the bombing, Eiko returned.
“I can’t imagine how she made it home,” Matsuo says.
Eiko was burned. She couldn’t keep food down. There was no proper medical care. “We spoke encouraging words to her. It’s painful to think of that.” They took her to a nearby aid station, gave her water, tried a blood transfusion from her brother. But she died soon after.
“This young life was lost. It’s unbearable. She wanted to see her family, and she worked enormously hard to come home.”
Now 92, Matsuo tells her story to keep Eiko’s memory alive. But the chance of nuclear weapons never being used again is far from certain.
Kazuko Hikawa, Vice Director of the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition at Nagasaki University, says the goal may be harder to reach than many realize. The problem, she says, is something called the security paradox.
“Countries chase nuclear weapons thinking it will stop others from attacking them with nuclear weapons,” she tells ABC News. “Nuclear deterrence may prevent nuclear war, but it actually increases the risk of conflict involving conventional weapons, as seen in Ukraine and Palestine. These are not nuclear wars, but they happen under the shadow of nuclear power.”
In 2015, ABC News met a Hiroshima survivor, Sunao Tsuboi, who has since passed away.
U.S. Ambassador George Glass attended the memorial ceremonies in Hiroshima and and will also attend the ceremony in Nagasaki later this week. His remarks focused on reconciliation and the strength of the U.S.-Japan alliance.
(NEW YORK and LONDON) — Polish airspace was violated by at least 19 Russian drones overnight, the country’s prime minister said, in a torrent of activity that triggered a response from the NATO country’s air force, which scrambled and downed several of the drones.
“Those drones that posed a direct threat were shot down,” Prime Minister Donald Tusk said early on Wednesday on social media. “I am in constant communication with the Secretary-General of NATO and our allies.”
Two Polish F-16s and two Dutch F-35s were deployed to “help ensure safety in Polish skies,” the military said. The operations ended early on Wednesday, Warsaw said, adding that the search continued for downed drones and potential impact sites.
The country’s military command described the violations as “unprecedented,” saying they amounted to “an act of aggression that posed a real threat to the safety of our citizens.”
Polish authorities did not report any casualties related to the drone incursion.
Tusk said this marked the first time in history that Russian drones had been shot down on NATO territory, which he said “changes the political situation.”
Tusk told parliament on Wednesday that Warsaw had requested the invocation of NATO Article 4. The clause allows a NATO member to convene a meeting of allies to consult on an issue that could threaten its security.
“Today we must say very loudly and clearly to the entire Western world and all our allies — Article 4 is only the beginning of deeper cooperation for the security of our skies and our border, which is NATO’s border, and words alone are by no means enough,” Tusk said.
“This is not just a war for Ukrainians,” he added. “This is a confrontation that Russia has declared against the entire free world.”
Tusk said that at least 19 Russian drones entered the country’s airspace late Tuesday and into early Wednesday, some of which crossed over from Belarus, and at least three were subsequently shot down by Polish and NATO forces.
Poland previously invoked Article 4 on Feb. 24, 2022, the day Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which triggered urgent NATO consultations at the time.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said in a statement Wednesday morning that allies had held discussions after Poland’s Article 4 request. “Allies expressed solidarity with Poland and denounced Russia’s reckless behavior,” Rutte said. “A full assessment of the incident is ongoing. What is clear is that the violation last night is not an isolated incident.”
“Allies are resolved to defend every inch of allied territory,” Rutte added. “We will closely monitor the situation along our eastern flank, our air defenses continually at the ready.”
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to speak with Polish President Karol Nawrocki on Wednesday, a White House official told ABC News. The official added that Trump and the White House are “tracking the reports out of Poland.”
NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) said in a statement to social media that German Patriot surface-to-air missile systems based in Poland were placed on alert and that an Italian airborne early warning aircraft was deployed during the incursion. A NATO aerial refueling aircraft was also launched.
Col. Martin L. O’Donnell, a spokesperson for SHAPE, said in a statement, “This is the first time NATO planes have engaged potential threats in Allied airspace.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday referred journalists’ questions to Russia’s Defense Ministry.
“This is not within our competence, it is the prerogative of the Russian Ministry of Defense,” Peskov told reporters.
Asked to comment on accusations by Europe and NATO that the incident was a Russian provocation, Peskov replied, “The EU and NATO leadership accuse Russia of provocation on a daily basis, most often without even attempting to present any arguments.”
Peskov added that Russia had not received any requests for contact from Poland’s leadership.
In a post to Telegram, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its “massive strike” was only aimed at targets within Ukraine. “No targets on the territory of Poland were planned,” it said.
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the incident as “simply unacceptable.” He in a post to X, “I call on Russia to put an end to this reckless escalation. I reiterate to the Polish people and their government our full solidarity.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in post to X, “Europe is in a fight. A fight for our liberty and our ability to determine our destiny for ourselves.”
“Today, we have seen a reckless and unprecedented violation of Poland and Europe’s [airspace] by more than 10 Russian Shahed drones,” von der Leyen added. “Europe stands in full solidarity with Poland.”
European Union foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas described the incident as “the most serious European airspace violation by Russia since the war began,” adding that “and indications suggest it was intentional, not accidental.”
U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker, meanwhile, said in a post to X, “We stand by our NATO allies in the face of these airspace violations and will defend every inch of NATO territory.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy early on Wednesday described the violation as “another escalation step.”
“An extremely dangerous precedent for Europe,” he said in Ukrainian on the messaging app Telegram.
It was not immediately clear whether Russia had intended to send the drones into NATO airspace. Russian and Ukrainian drones have been known to go off course during long-range strikes due to electronic warfare measures employed by the combatants.
The incursions occurred during a major Russian strike on Ukraine, which the air force in Kyiv said consisted of 415 drones and 35 missiles. Of those, 386 drones and 27 missiles were intercepted or suppressed, the air force said.
The Kremlin did not immediately issue a statement but Zelenskyy positioned the violation as anything but an accident — saying it might have been considered one if it had been just one drone that crossed the border.
Zelenskyy called for consequences for Russia, saying Moscow “must feel that the war cannot be expanded and must be ended.”
Military officials in Poland earlier said the country’s airspace was “repeatedly violated by drone-type objects” in the overnight hours amid Russian strikes on targets in Ukraine.
“An operation is underway aimed at identifying and neutralizing the objects,” the Polish military said in one of its initial statements, each of which urged people to stay at home.
The most threatened areas had been Podlaskie, Mazowieckie and Lubelskie, Poland said. Polish security services said they sent an SMS message to cellphones in the area — sending the type of alert that’s become a nightly occurrence in neighboring Ukraine.
Earlier, the Polish military said it had scrambled jets and was taking “preventative” action during the “massive attack” carried out by Russia on facilities in Ukraine.
“Polish and allied aircraft are operating in our airspace, and ground-based air defense and radar reconnaissance systems have reached the highest state of readiness,” the military said in the earlier statement.
Tusk, the Polish prime minister, convened an extraordinary government meeting early on Wednesday, bringing together the country’s emergency and military officials.
Polish Deputy Prime Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, who also serves as foreign affairs minister, met prior to that meeting with Andrii Sybiha, the Ukrainian foreign affairs minister, according to Poland. Jacek Najder, Poland’s representative to NATO, was also present, the country’s Foreign Ministry said.
“The security of Polish women and men is the greatest priority,” the ministry said prior to the meeting.
Tusk in the emergency cabinet meeting said the there was “no reason to panic,” according to the Chancellery.
“The procedures were implemented correctly, the decision-making process was flawless, and the threat was effectively eliminated thanks to the resolute actions of commanders, soldiers, and our allies,” Tusk said during the meeting, according to his office. “I am deeply grateful.”
The Defense Ministry in Belarus — which is aligned with Russia and has assisted its invasion of Ukraine — said in a statement that its forces also downed drones that went off course “as a result of the impact of the parties’ electronic warfare assets.”
Minsk said it shared information with neighboring Poland and Lithuania regarding the incoming drones. “This allowed the Polish side to respond promptly to the actions of the drones by scrambling their forces on duty,” the ministry said.
The ministry added that Polish forces had also notified Belarusian forces of incoming unidentified aircraft from Ukrainian territory.
A Lithuanian Defense Ministry official told ABC News that there were no violations of Lithuanian airspace overnight.
In Romania — which borders Ukraine to its southwest — the Defense Ministry said two F-16 fighter jets were scrambled in response to a “group of aerial drones in the area of the Ukrainian town of Valcov, on the border with Romania.”
No drones entered Romanian airspace, the ministry said in a statement.
ABC News’ Dada Jovanovic, Morgan Winsor, Natalia Popova, Oleskiy Pshemyskiy, Patrick Reevell, Anna Sergeeva, Anne Flaherty and Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.
